“The Gingko Bed” Theatrical Poster
Director: Kang Je-Gyu
Cast: Han Suk-Kyu, Jin Hee-Kyung, Kim Sun-Kyung, Lee Beom-Soo, Shim Hye-Jin, Shin Hyeon-Jun, Kim Myeong-Kuk, Kim Hak-Cheol, Choi Hak-Rak, Yoo Yeon-Soo
Running Time: 88 min.
By Paul Bramhall
The Gingko Bed is often spoken about in the context of it being the first Korean production to make significant use of CGI. It wasn’t the first, that honor belongs to The Fox with Nine Tails from the previous year, however while that production has largely become a footnote in Korean film history, The Gingko Bed still tends to find its way into conversations on modern Korean cinema. In 1995 the Korean film industry was back on its feet after a shaky start to the decade, and while it was still 4 years away from securing its first international blockbuster with Shiri, filmmakers were already beginning to play with the ingredients that go into making a mainstream commercial movie.
One such director was Kang Je-kyu. It’d be Je-kyu who’d go on to helm Shiri, and other popular new wave movies such as the bombastic Korean war flicks Taegukgi and My Way. However in 1995 he’d only co-directed one feature, Gongpoteuggeup, made the previous year. The Gingko Bed would mark his solo directorial debut, and while his flair for commercial filmmaking was already apparent, his storytelling skills definitely still needed some development. Featuring a plot which plays out fairly straightforward onscreen, but somehow sounds rather more complex on paper, Je-kyu’s tale very much Continue reading
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